Senior Therapy Assistant

As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.

We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £250m estates programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.

The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.

We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.

We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.

At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.

As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Therapy Assistant to join our dynamic and friendly Trauma and Orthopaedic Therapy team, working on the inpatient Trauma wards at Poole Hospital UHD. As a team we are passionate in ensuring that any adults presenting to our acute hospital receive the highest quality care from clinicians with a holistic and rehabilitative approach.

This is an exciting opportunity for individuals with some background knowledge of Physiotherapy or Occupational Therapy within a health or social care setting.

For the full duties of the post – please see the attached job description.

The successful candidate will need to possess:

• Previous employment in a health or social care setting (or equivalent) in a care/ facilitation/ support role
• A GCSE (or equivalent) pass mark in English
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently within a supportive environment
• Flexibility and to be able to work as part of a team
• Excellent personal organisational skills including time management

The department offers excellent support, clinical supervision and a collaborative working environment.

This post involves weekend working, and there will be an expectation that the successful candidate moves to the Bournemouth site with the service early 2026.

Interview Date: To be confirmed.

Main duties of the job

To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert

Please note this post includes 7 day working. The post holder will be expected to participate in regular weekend working.

You will work alongside qualified Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists to deliver combined therapy treatment programmes, undertake essential non-clinical roles to support the smooth running of the inpatient Trauma Therapy service and support service users who have sustained traumatic injuries out of hospital.

If you are successful, you will be supported to achieve the competencies for the role through induction, ‘on the job training’ and teaching sessions.

Working for our organisation

Our values define who we are as #TeamUHD. They underpin everything we do now and in the future. They define how we treat our patients, visitors, and each other, our valued teammates and colleagues.

UHD are investing in services across the Trust, with many being transformed and developed following merger and the New Hospital Programme.

This means that some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or long term. Recruiting Managers interviewing for this role will be happy to answer any specific questions that you have about this at interview.

This service has a planned move from the Poole site to the Bournemouth site in January 2026.

Please note that if the role or service is relocated as part of a planned move, employees will not be eligible for excess mileage reimbursement. Travel from the postholder's home to the new work base will be considered a normal commute. Any other changes not related to this relocation will be managed according to the relevant Trust or National terms and conditions.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert.

Person specification

Qualification

• GCSE Grade C or above in English Literature/Language

Experience

• Previous employment in a health or social care setting (or equivalent) in a care/ facilitation/ support role

• Previous Occupational Therapy Assistant/ Physiotherapy Assistant/ Speech and Language/ Dietetic Assistant or Rehab Assistant or Healthcare Assistant experience
• NHS experience

Skills

• Good communication skills (both written and verbal)
• Good personal organisational skills including time management
• Ability to work under pressure

• Management of a caseload

Language Requirement

• Ability to speak English as necessary to undertake the role

Other requirements

• Possession of a clean UK driving licence

• Ability to travel to all Trust locations to carry out post

Please note:

Staff recruited are expected to be available to work flexibly across all our Trust locations to meet service demands.

This advert may be closed early if sufficient applications are received.

COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst this vaccination is not a condition of employment we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated.

Internal Candidates: staff employed prior to merger who voluntarily change jobs will be appointed to UHD terms and conditions.